Marcelo Álvarez was born on 27 February 1962 in Córdoba, Argentina, and sang as a boy in a children’s choir before pursuing a career outside music for over a decade. He began formal voice lessons in 1992 with Norma Risso in Buenos Aires at age 30, and after an encouraging audition with legendary tenor Giuseppe di Stefano, moved to Europe in 1995 to pursue opera professionally.

Álvarez rapidly built an international career as a lyric tenor, performing 34 roles at major houses including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, and La Scala, and appearing in numerous HD Live cinema broadcasts. He signed an exclusive recording contract with Sony Classical and received Echo Klassik awards (2000, 2002) and recognition as Best Tenor by Italy’s L’Opera magazine (2003).